Are you a social media expert?

with people you know and meet people you don’t.  In fact, social media is all the buzz in advertising in today’s market. It’s free, it’s fast, and you can hit a large market.  Big companies are even hiring social media experts whose full time job is to tweet you, text you, and message you about hot deals and cool stuff.  It’s the next big thing in marketing.  But should you use it for your private music teaching studio?  I do.

Facebook.  I love Facebook, mostly for its ability to quickly and easily connect with a ton of people, specifically my friends, family, high school classmates, and even my piano students. You can quickly and easily get messages to all or some of the people you know, advertise your studio, and share tips and tricks for practice times.   But Facebook is rife with privacy issues.  If you’re going to post personal items on Facebook, you must be vigilant about using discretion and privacy settings.  After all, some, if not all, of your posts may end up in Google searches.  You also need to watch that some distant relative doesn’t tag you in an unflattering photo from your third cousin’s wedding.  It might reflect poorly on the image you are hoping to portray to your private lesson students.  Avoid posting anything that you don’t want the entire world to know or see.  Don’t post rants about people or places, instead, keep your posts positive, fun, and inspiring.  Better yet, create a separate page based on your studio website.  You can invite all your students to visit, as well as post events, ads, or information that you want your students to see.  It’s a great place to offer an incentive for referrals.  You can also join Facebook groups such as your local high school band page or church page.  From there, you can meet new poeple and make new connections.  Don’t forget to ask people to ‘like’ your page so they can find you later or share you with their friends.

www.facebook.com

LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is a more professional venue, and a great way to network with other private teachers, businessman, and other professionals.  It’s a great way to get your resume and credentials out there, as well as advertise your studio website.  You’re not likely to find young students on LinkedIn, but you will be able to network with people who can lead you to new students (such as their professionally employed parents).  Be wary of attaching your Twitter and Facebook accounts to LinkedIn.  It’s much safer to keep this account strictly professional with no personal references.  Include a great looking head shot so people remember you as a person, not just a name on the computer screen.  You can also join various discussion groups through LinkedIn, so you can find job openings or people looking to find a private music teacher.  Don’t forget to link your profile to your free Music Teacher’s Helper website.

www.linkedin.com.

Twitter.    The key to Twitter is in being succinct.  You only have 140 characters to get your message out there, so the more concise you can be, the better.  You can invite your friends and family to follow you on Twitter, and you can gain followers by following people you like.  Whenever you tweet, you should add a hashtag that compliments your tweet.  So if you tweet about piano practice, you may want to end your tweet with #piano or #musicpractice.  A hashtag is like  a keyword.  Other Twitter users can search for keywords, and hopefully, your tweet will come up.  Again, make sure to link your account with your Music Teacher’s Website.  Be careful of privacy issues, and keep an eye on your followers.  It is polite and expected to follow back appropriate followers on Twitter.

www.twitter.com

Google+.  Google plus is like Facebook without all the fancy bells and whistles (and with less privacy problems, too).  It’s a great networking tool, and I’m sure it will be gaining popularity as time goes on.  Invite your friends and family to join, and create ‘circles’ to categorize them in.  You can then associate with people that are in their circles, and thereby expand your own.  Being so concise will inspire your creative writing, too. www.google.com.

There are a few tricks to good, social networking.  First, post often, but don’t spam.  I love hearing what local business men and women are doing, but I get annoyed by the people that post every half hour.  I just don’t have time for that!  If your are networking to advertise, post things that are relevant to your studio, such as practice tips, composer tidbits, and available lesson spots.  It’s also a great place to offer incentives or advertise specials, if you have them.   Routinely look for new people to connect with by checking your family and friend’s pages and searching for groups and individuals.  Avoid ranting and raving or gossipping in your posts.  Keep your comments positive and helpful.  If you are going to post about your students, make sure you have their parents permission.  People love to see photographs, but be very careful what you post and who you tag.  If you want to post photos of your students, you should probably get written permission first.  Lastly, always be aware of privacy concerns.  If you don’t want the entire world to know, play it safe and just don’t post it.  Link your accounts to your free Music Teacher’s Helper Website so people know where to find you.

But as a teacher, we have the power to influence a great number of people as well.

For years, I played Ibanez Soundgear basses, Ovation acoustic electric guitars, and Les Paul style guitars. After a year or two, my beginner students would start moving on from their starter instruments. There was an unusually high percentage of Ibanez Soundgear basses and Ovation acoustic electrics in the mix of new purchases.

Later on, I acquired a Gibson SG and switched to playing Spector and LightWave basses. Not surprisingly, the next batch of students tended to gravitate to SG style guitars (made by a wide variety of builders…Samick, Epiphone, and even Ibanez) and a few Spector basses entered the mix.

My personal tastes then shifted again. A Washburn N2 has now been competing with the SG for the “favored guitar” position for a few years now. A handful of my students now say they are saving for their own N2 guitars.

One store I work at started selling Digitech multieffects units. These were starter multieffects units priced around $120 or so. The store manager put one unit in my studio for me to use. I’m just guessing, but there must be 40 or 50 kids who have now purchased that same multieffects unit at the same store, just because I was able to demo concepts with it during lessons.

Teachers are people of interest to manufacturers. We influence people directly. And that makes us eligible for product endorsements with companies. We are role models, and the fact we have preferences in choosing an instrument consititues an endorsement, even if we do not have some kind of arrangement with the company that makes the product. Our students pay attention to our choices, and will gravitate towards playing what we play.

But why would a teacher want or need an endorsement? And why would you want to go through the trouble of getting endorsements? First off, people will see you as a more credible musician. A few years ago, I was trying my hand at chord melody bass, and I was uploading YouTube videos of my work. I had a decent amount of hits. I had also purchased a LightWave fretless bass that needed some repairs. I had to make some calls to the company to get the repairs started. Fortunately, my YouTube videos were online and they were a great way to view my work, even though the videos featured my Ibanez Soundgear bass. To the company, I became a person of interest…a working musician and educator who was exploring a newer genre of bass playing. One thing led to another, and through a series of phone calls, emails, and a meeting, I ended up getting an endorsement with LightWave.

When I got my endorsement with LightWave, I was still the same player I was before I had gotten the endorsement. However, I did notice many folks now perceived me in a different way, which was interesting to observe. My students were proudly “heralding” the endorsement…even telling the local salespeople at our Guitar Center. I now had players from all over the world emailing me with some frequency. They would ask me questions about the bass and my opinion on it as a working bassist. I was still the same player. I just now had an endorsement.

The reality is, most people do judge us by our associations. This is the measure that most will judge our talent by and determine it’s worth. It’s not fair, but unfortunately it is true. So knowing this, you can choose to make these associations work for you. Endorsements can give your name a greater level of respect and weight.

Endorsements can also save you money, especially on products that you frequently use (in my case this would include strings, picks, tuners, cables, and even cases). And remember that if a product is purchased frequently (like strings) the company will probably have more profit dollars to put into their endorsement programs. Endorsements will usually have a sliding scale of how much they will discount their product. Just remember that the less you pay, the more you should expect to be a “team player” for the company that supplies you with their product. In the case of LightWave, I posted several videos of myself playing the bass, and I answered a lot of emails from people on my own time. I even recorded clips of songs that I played on that bass and sent them out via email to folks.

Another artist I know commented that he loved his basses so much, he paid out of pocket to have his company’s banner shipped to the event he was playing at, just so it could be displayed. That’s a team player!

Which brings me to my next point; when pursuing an endorsement, make sure you go after endorsements for products you love. It is obvious the artist I mentioned above LOVES his instrument and the company that supports him if he is willing to pay to have his personal banner shipped to an event. If you love the product, your enthusiasm is going to show, which benefits everyone involved.

In my next blog: how to go about getting an endorsement.

Every professional or aspiring professional music teacher needs a well crafted bio. Your personal bio is your way of introducing yourself to new students, fans, and music industry types in a way that puts your best foot forward.  Here are some very important concepts to keep in mind as you craft your own bio.

Target Your Audience

Before you begin your bio make sure you have a clear idea of who your main audience will be. What details will the people who are interested in your talent and music instruction want to know about you? This should frame how you go about writing your personal bio statement. Always keep this in mind as you write.  Who is my target market?  As an example: If I were a music teacher trying to market my lessons toward aspiring singer/songwriters I’d make sure that I mentioned my extensive knowledge of Beatles tunes, James Taylor songs, or John Mayer songs etc.  In addition, I’d  also mention whether I’d played on any albums released or performed in any local venues….

Here’s another example: What if I was trying to market toward students who were trying to perform at church? You’d make sure to mention in your bio the “x” number of years you have been a church musician, your extensive knowledge of hymns, or that you own a huge collection of praise and worship sheet music.

The overall point is to make sure you craft your bio’s message specifically toward your clients. In my case 85% of my students study Jazz, Blues, or Rock.  So, I make sure to emphasize in my bio the extensive touring I’ve done in those styles.

Fundamentals of Creating a Bio

Here’s a basic design of how a bio can be setup.  Your first paragraph should state exactly what you do and who you are. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself a bit but make it clear.  Of course you should never consider lying or fabricating your bio.  At the same time you don’t have to be bashful.  Modesty is a beautiful thing but it doesn’t come across as well in print.

Your next paragraphs can talk about some of the places you’ve taught, the # of years you’ve been teaching,  people you have played with and/or places you have played.
One additional idea is to use the “like” concept of associating with popular brand names.  For example, do you teach on Yamaha Pianos?  Do you use Dean Markley Strings in your guitar studio?  Do you teach on Pearl Drums?  etc. etc.  Have you performed at some common music venues that people have heard of?   List those in your bio if you have played there. Even put churches on there if you’d like.

Limited Performance or Teaching Experience?

So, here’s a common question that often comes up. What should I do if I don’t have much of a resume or a lot of professional experience? Your personal education can substitute in the beginning. List some of the people that you have studied with. For example, I wrote in a early version of my resume, “While at Berklee, Steve was mentored by world renowned Hammond B-3 virtuoso Bruce Katz.”  At that early stage in my career I didn’t really have a lot of professional experience and so I put details like that all through my bio.
If you’re self taught and haven’t really done the education thing you’ll still use a similar concept. List some of the local groups or music events you’ve been involved with. I think the most important concept is to show you’ve had some musical experience.

Keeping Your Bio Fresh and Up To Date

Last concept I want to discuss is updating your bio. As the years pass you’ll be more experienced. You’ll want to slowly replace your education and local/ semi-professional groups in your resume with student success stories and potentially bigger performance names. This will allow you to keep your bio shorter and more focused. It will also be more impressive.

As an example, it would be a wonderful idea to mention in your bio if a student you’ve taught gets accepted into music school, graduates, or even performs regularly.  Have your students won any awards?  Have you been recognized in the community?  Any notable student success or personal success can be brought into your bio.  If you’ve only been teaching for 3 years I wouldn’t necessarily list that in my bio but I surely would if I had been teaching for 10+ years.
Finally, keep your bio about a page long. If you have a really powerful resume then you can stretch it a bit farther but a page is a good benchmark.

If you are interested here is a link to my bio page as a reference www.stevenixonmusic.net/bio

Thank you so much for taking time to read my first blog post for Music Teachers Helper.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Also, feel free to share any other ideas you  have for bio content. Cheers!!

Fit your business goals to the site. Are you looking to improve networking? Or do you want to drive more traffic to your business or website? Once you determine what you really want from an online network, it’s easier to pick one that will help you accomplish your goals — rather than just signing up because you think you need to jump on the online social network bandwagon.

For example, sites such as LinkedIn focus on networking for professionals. Say you are an active performer and want to network with other people who might be in need of your services. In this case a social network with a professional bent likely will best serve your needs. But if you own a music studio and just want to gain exposure with potential students, a network such as MySpace might be a better fit.

Do your homework. Carefully consider what each site has to offer before signing up. Does it form professional relationships or personal relationships? Are there any costs involved for advanced features? What features does it offer that sets it apart from other sites? For example, you can search for people on LinkedIn based on the “six degrees of separation” concept — when you view someone’s profile, a chart shows you the degrees of separation between you and the person’s profile. Ryze, meanwhile, allows you to join specific networks related to your industry, interests and location.

If one of your main goals is to increase exposure with potential customers, investigate what your current customer base is doing. Informally ask them about the online social networks they currently use, or include such questions in a survey. And be sure to check out how your competition is marketing online. If they aren’t doing anything, you may have identified an opportunity to set your music business apart.

Look for established networks. There are tons of choices when it comes to choosing a business-to-business network. When you stick to an established network, you can spend time building your business rather than searching for the latest networks to join. Plus, sticking to just a few networks allows you to be a more active participant and to effectively build strong working relationships.

Proceed with caution. Monitoring social networks can be time-consuming. And there is the possibility of decreased productivity. Remember that this is a networking and advertising tool.  Limit your time on these networks by creating a daily appointment and time limit to update and read posts.  You don’t have to read every single post- just skim- and create engaging yet short posts to keep clients checking up on your site.  Time is money, so remember that your 3 hour Facebook session could be costing you valuable working time in other areas.

Dial “M” for Musicology “Music, Musicology, and Related Matters.”   “This is a musicology group blog that features the prose stylings of Jonathan Bellman (University of Northern Colorado) and Phil Ford (Indiana University Jacobs School of Music). It is a place for us to work ideas out publicly in what is still, for our field, a somewhat new medium. We are members of the American Musicological Society, but our views are entirely our own and should not be taken as representative of the AMS or any other academic organization. “Dial ‘M’ for Musicology” is an academic blog, but it wants to be friends with everyone. Welcome to all critics, musicians, bedroom air-guitarists, louche aesthetes, prickly autodidacts, and random passers-by!”  There are also several new contributors who have joined the fold.  Often thought-provoking and always interesting, this is a great place to find things to think about.  4-8 posts monthly.

dramma per musica “My name is Bob Kingston. I’m a librarian, free-lance musicologist, lapsed bass-baritone, and self-professed opera fanatic living in Portland, Oregon.  I give all of the pre-performance talks for the Portland Opera, and I also lead music history classes for the company’s Studio Artists. I love collecting historic vocal recordings, and I often use examples of these in my classes and presentations. So, don’t be surprised if I post a clip of some obscure Russian tenor or Italian baritone from time to time.”  4-12 posts monthly.  I enjoy Bob’s tweets immensely.  Follow Bob on Twitter.

Elissa Milne “music, media, performance, politics, the tastes and times of Elissa Milne”  Elissa blogs about her experiences as a piano teacher in Australia, Children’s books, and anything else that catches her interest.  She usually posts every couple of days.  Follow Elissa on Twitter.  I’ve had some good conversations with her via Twitter.

Emmanuel Ax’s Official Blog I found this blog while looking into my question on how applause is seen in current performance practice.He posts very infrequently, but has brought up some interesting topics.  It’s nice to have an insight into a great artistic mind.

Georgia Stitt Official Blog Yes, I admit it, I’m a music theater geek! I love the genre and the music (my grandfather was a Theater Organist and I grew up on the classic musicals).  Georgia Stitt is one of my favorite contemporary composers and singers.  She writes in a personal tone about her music and her jobs of being mother, wife, and composer.  I highly recommend her blog for all those multi-tasking moms out there.  She’s currently on hiatus, having just given birth to her second child, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon.

Good Company Billie Whittaker: “A classically-trained pianist, formerly employed in academia, gone freelance in VA/DC/MD. I play in several musical sandboxes, as needed. My side hobby is helping other pianists (with a similar background to my own) get employed.” A great perspective from the “other” side of the piano.  Posts 4-6 times monthly.

GretchensPianos Gretchen Saathoff is a pianist based in Western Massachusetts.  I don’t remember where I ran across her blog (I think the Collaborative Piano Blog – a lot of great musicians hang out there), but she posts on many issues.  We connected because of Smith College being a commonality between us.  We’ve had many great discussions on practicing (techniques in common w/ piano and voice), as well as enjoying the New England fall.  Follow Gretchen on Twitter. She’ll respond to any reasonable comments (and really appreciates it if you let her know her account was hacked and sent an IQ quiz to you!).

Hell Mouth is composer John Adams’ blog.  It is a recent addition, but I must admit I LOVE being able to be privy to some of the thoughts of this amazing composer.  He blogs in a very opinionated yet well-reasoned (and often sarcastic) way, and the commenters on his blogs add depth to his insights.   The blog has only been active since September, but I find myself challenged by his ideas.

Là ci darem la mano Maura Lafferty, “Marketing and PR Director at New Century Chamber Orchestra  in the San Francisco Bay Area.” A colleague of Amanda Ameer (see Life’s a Pitch below), Maura blogs more generally about music (and her life).  I just really love the title of her blog.  5-8 posts monthly.  Find Maura on LinkedIn or Twitter (yes, she’ll respond!).

LA Stage Blog “Up-to-date news, opportunities, and perspectives in the Los Angeles performing arts community.”  While not STRICTLY a music blog, I feel this belongs in this category because of its theatre connections. Most of the posts relate to “straight” theater, but also touch on LA Phil and other musical performances in the area.

Life’s A Pitch “For immediate release: The Arts are marketable”  An ArtsJournal weblog, Amanda Ameer is a publicist for many well-known professional musicians.  She has an honest take on the arts and marketing, frequently poking fun at her own gaffes.  She is engaging and makes us think about how the arts are perceived by those within the profession, those outside music, and those marketing the musician.  I have learned a lot about the thought process behind marketing classical musicians.

Making Music Magazine A Magazine focused towards the adult “casual” music-maker, I learned about this magazine from a colleague (Cynthia Vaughn of Magnolia Music Studio).  I am now distributing copies to my studio, but also have subscribed to their blog.  There are frequently entertainment personalities profiled that helps to raise the “status” of music making among students. 8-10 posts monthly.

Marion Harrington’s Clarinet World “Launching a classical music career the second time around and other Andalusian adventures” Marion lives in Andalusia, Spain and has become a close Twitter friend of mine.  5-8 posts monthly.  She has had a on-again-off-again relationship withprofessional music throughout her life (read the story here) and is now in the process of finishing up her solo clarinet recording.  Marion is very friendly and has some great ideas about music – both the making of and the business of.

Mass Culture Mozart is written by Olivia Giovetti, “Contributing Classical + Opera editor at Time Out New York, columnist with Classical Singer, gadabout town.”  Olivia’s been going through the works of Lully and discussing them in depth, as well as taking side-trips into the various realms of opera.  3-5 posts monthly.  Follow Olivia on Twitter for other classical vocal inspirations (and some great conversation).

Matt Doyle Actor of the same name currently playing Hugo Peabody in the Broadway revival of “Bye-Bye Birdie.” He talks about music, the Birdie rehearsal process, and generally just life as an actor in the big city.  1-4 posts monthly.

Music Matters Blog “Creative, Practical and Up-To-Date Resources for the Independent Music Teacher.” Natalie Wickham operates an independent piano studio in Derby, Kansas (using MusicTeachersHelper, of course!). She blogs both about the details of studio management as well as the creative side of making music with students.  Her regular feature “Monday Mailbag” answers questions put to her by other teachers and covers a variety of topics.  Down-to-earth an practical, I always enjoy reading her posts.  Follow Natalie on Twitter.

Music Teachers Helper Blog Need I say more?

Music, Technology and Education: mustech.net “A project of Dr. Joseph Pisano…[mustech.net] was established in order to spread the “word” faster about  music, technology,  and other related educational topics.”  The postings I appreciate the most are those entitled “Monday Morning Music Mix – Education News from All Over.”  They are a fabulous roundup of the week’s news in music education.  For a broader scope, follow Dr. Pisano on Twitter.

Musica Nova’s Blog: Musings on the Music We Play Musica Nova is a small Scottsdale, AZ-based set of ensembles dedicated to playing music that is “not your typical orchestra.” Led (and the blog is written by) conductor Warren Cohen, the groups are dedicated to “performing new and neglected music of the highest caliber.”   Disclaimer: I have been hired to sing with them several times over the years and we are planning on me singing with them again in the near future.

Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise “Books, articles, and a blog by the music critic of The New Yorker” Author of book The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Posts infrequently: Newly changed over to Unquiet Thoughts under the aegis of The New Yorker magazine. He plans for several posts weekly.

Artistic Discourse… because the future of the arts depend on it “This blog is about many things: technology, sociology, economics, politics, arts policy and any other potential category of discourse that peaks my interest at the moment.  However, the underlying theme to all those sub-categories will always be, THE ARTS. Whether you agree with me or not throughout the course of this blog, I would hope that you share your thoughts.  I appreciate dissenting opinions almost equally as much as affirming ones.” Was posting weekly.  Currently I couldn’t access the Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zhayhurst.  He’s posted that he’s moving & he hasn’t posted since 9/1/09.  Still, lots of food for thought.

Artists House Music “Helping Musicians and Music Entrepreneurs Create Sustainable Careers”  Posts approximately 6 times/month. Always has a GREAT “Music Business Weekly Wrap-up” that sums up a large amount of information about the music business – mostly focused on independent marketing of your own stuff.  Often intriguing interviews with artists on how they function in this business.  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/artistshouse (yes, they WILL respond!)

Barry’s Blog: News, Advice and Opinion for the Arts Administrator Part of the Western States Arts Federation.  Has been reviewing/reporting on the NEA Forum Panel Discussions.  A LOT of amazing information about what’s actually going on within the NEA.  Posts twice weekly.

Beginning Singer “Beginning Singer is about the challenges of becoming a professional singer. My name is Ian Sidden, and I have been performing since I was a very little boy. I have always sung, and whether it was in musicals, rock bands, choirs or operas; I just couldn’t shut up. I just completed graduate studies in Vocal Performance, and now it is do or die time to attempt a professional career.” Posts slightly more than weekly.  Ian is very friendly and comments regularly on my blog postings.  He also does a regular “Blog Roundup” through which I’ve found several of the blogs I am currently recommending.  Follow Ian on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IanSidden

Classical Review “Classical Music Reviews – get the idea, forget the jargon: Follow the music without following the score. These reviews will introduce you to a wide variety of works – and tell you which bits to listen out for.”  Weekly postings (to resume December 1, 2009).  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/classicalreview, you’ll likely get a response!

Clef Notes “The Baltimore Sun’s classical music critic, Tim Smith, writes about the sonic art, local and beyond.”    Often multiple posts daily.  An amazing conglomeration of what’s going on in music, classical and otherwise.  Very interesting reading and often extraordinarily educational.

The Collaborative Piano Blog “Encounters with Classical Music, Collaboration, Chamber Music, Opera, Administration, Teaching, and Technology.” Chris is a wonderful and personable pianist based out of Toronto.  He is a fellow contributor (and strong advocate for) Music Teacher’s Helper.  This blog (which I found in the process of preparing for my own NATSAA auditions) is the reason that I started getting active in social media.  His advice and humor, as well as his clear dedication to artistic integrity in incomparable.  He WILL answer you back if you follow Chris on Twitter at www.twitter.com/chrisfoley

COMMANDOpera is a brand new blog that talks about all things opera.  Singers, productions, houses are all reviewed – world-wide.  I am greatly enjoying this blog and learning a lot, especially about young opera singers who are current stand-outs in their field.

ComposeCreate.com “Tools for Composing, Creating, and Teaching Music” Wendy Stevens “enjoys composing and giving presentations on creativity, composition, and technology. Her students have won various prizes for their compositions at a local and national level. Wendy’s own compositions are published with Concordia Publishing House, Augsburg Fortress, and Hal Leonard.”  Wendy is very responsive and has lots of really good ideas.  Follow Wendy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/composecreate

Createquity. “Ian David Moss founded Createquity as a first-year student in the MBA program at the Yale School of Management. Now a Rhode Island-based arts consultant, he works with clients on projects including strategic planning, program development, program evaluation, and data analysis. Prior to business school, he was Development Manager for the American Music Center. He is a composer and choral singer and founded two first-of-their-kind performing ensembles in New York City. He was recently named one of two “younger leaders very likely to grow into major contributors to the arts in this country” in arts consultant and blogger Barry Hessenius’s annual ranking of the top 25 leaders in the nonprofit arts sector.  A unique virtual think tank exploring the intersection of the arts with a wide range of topics including politics, economics, philanthropy, leadership, research, and urban planning, Createquity is your source for next-generation ideas on the role of the arts in a creative society.”   Posts frequently, but always with thought-provoking information.  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/createquity

I currently follow slightly less than 100 blogs – I will be spreading out this series through the next several months.  Not all the blogs I read are music-related, although most are.  I’ve separated them out & tried to comment on them to help you decide if you’d like to follow them.  Remember, these are just my first several, alphabetically, as well as my vocal bias.  What are YOUR recommendations? Am I missing any INCREDIBLE blogs (in the A-C) so far?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then send us an email! We are looking for additional bloggers to write articles or posts that will be of interest to music teachers. Our goal is to provide an even more valuable resource and community for music teachers here on our blog.

The requirement is one article per month. If you’re a current Music Teacher’s Helper subscriber, compensation will entail all of your monthly subscription fee being waived (yes, you get a free Music Teacher’s Helper account!).

Applicants must have excellent English grammar and be familiar with the needs and interests of music teachers.

I will be accepting applications until November 10th, 2009. To apply, just send me an email with the following information:

• Outline of your writing experience (none required, we’d just like to know).
• Ideas you have for interesting post topics.
• Write and attach an article, which could be used as your 1st article if you are one of the chosen few.
• A brief bio.

The article you write needs to be written in text format, using a text program such as NotePad. The embedded formats in software such as WORD does not work.

We may bring on several individuals, so if you’re at all interested, don’t hesitate to send us an email.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Ronnie Currey

Director of Member Services/Editor
Music Teacher’s Helper

ronnie@musicteachershelper.com

You can use the blog for a splendid tool for gathering much needed info for your studio and use of Music Teacher’s Helper. Below are a few ways to make the blog work for you:

• Click on one of the Categories in the right sidebar, which will bring up all the years of articles in that Category.
• Enter a work in the Search box at the top of the right sidebar. This will search all of the articles for the word in which you are searching.
• Like a particular author? Click on their name to bring up all the articles written by the author.

Remember to click on MORE to read the complete article, and leave a comment for the author. I know they appreciate your comments and will answer any question you might have.

Please enter a comment, or email me at ronnie@musicteachershelper.com if you have any questions, comments or suggestions concerning the Blog or Newsletter. Also let me know if you have a particular subject that you would like to share with  other members. A good article of interest by you could be published on our blog and newsletter for over four thousand of our members around the world to read and gather ideas to improve their studio.

Thanks for your support and interest in Music Teacher’s Helper.

Ronnie Currey
Director of Member Services/Editor
Music Teacher’s Helper
ronnie@musicteachershelper.com

Free listings can’t be beat, especially from Google, the Internet’s most powerful and popular search engine. How many times have you looked up “plumber” or “pizza” online, and above a host of links, Google has a handy map with all of those plumbers and pizza joints pin-pointed and links to their business address. Not only does Google list these businesses at the top of their searches, but also these listings are free!

Listing with Google is a simple process, and can give your studio the professional look and appeal with some great features Google offers in their listings. Here’s how to list:

1. Go to http://www.google.com/local/add to start your listing.
2. Start with entering your business’ basic information, including:
   • Company/Organization: This is the official/registered name of your business.
   • Address: Enter your address the same way it would appear on a paper mail envelope.
   • Phone number: Make sure to include the area code with your business phone number.
   • Website: Make sure to list your authoritative business website as your homepage, since Google uses information from your homepage to help improve search results. The URL you provide can be a maximum of 255 characters.
   • Description: Tell users what makes your business special.
   • Email address: Let users know how to contact you.

3. Classify your business into categories. Google matched my business with “Music Instruction” and “Piano Instructor”, but I added keywords such as “Voice Teacher” and “Voice Lessons” to further clarify for a search. Make sure that the categories you choose are accurate and describe your business well. It’s ok if they’re specific; Google’s search algorithm makes sure that users looking for a general business type, like ‘book stores,’ will see businesses in more specific categories too.
4. Additional information includes:
   • Hours of operation Let customers know when your business is open.
   • Payment options specify the payment types you accept.
   • Photos/Videos including photos and video adds visual appeal to your listing.

5. Your listing will be submitted only after entering a PIN number provided by Google. They will contact the number provided on the listing to communicate your pin.
6. Once listed, you will be able to edit your current listing, include printable coupons for your business, and follow searches and hits to your listing on your dashboard.

We really appreciate everyone who stopped by our booth to talk to us and check out our program. We handed out brochures like crazy so hopefully the word will continue to spread. We’ll be announcing the winner of the Free Portable DVD Player Giveaway shortly.